Centro Cha Recognition for Community Leadership

CENTRO CHA RECOGNITION FOR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 15, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2004

Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise proudly today to congratulate the Long Beach Community Hispanic Association, a Long Beach community non-profit better known as Centro CHA, for their valuable service to the community.

Formed in 1992, Centro CHA's mission is to provide enhanced quality of life to Hispanic/Latino youth, families, and neighborhoods in the City of Long Beach through health and educational programs, social and economic enrichment, cultural arts, and after school programs.

Centro CHA is recognized in the City of Long Beach as a leading Hispanic/Latino grassroots community-based organization. Centro CHA serves as an advocate in efforts to reduce the gaps in services to low-income, underserved

Hispanic/Latino youth, families, and neighborhoods.

The City of Long Beach is now the second largest city in California, with a population of nearly 458,000 new immigrants creating significant changes in ethnic distribution and a considerable increase in diversity. According to the 2000 United States Census, the Hispanic/Latino population represents almost 40 percent of the city's total population.
Centro CHA connects the public with vital linkages and resources to access healthcare, civic leadership, and educational institutions. Through cultural community forums, collaboration, and civic leadership, Centro CHA helps local service providers to connect these services to the Hispanic/Latino community. To make the public more aware of the community's activism, Centro CHA created an annual award.

The Nuestra Imagen Award recognizes local individuals and companies for their contributions to local Hispanic/Latino communities. The award is in its eighth year, and it has grown to be one of the most widely attended non-profit awards dinners in Los Angeles County. The awards ceremony coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month, as well as Mexican Independence Day, and celebrates "the exceptional achievements of outstanding individuals and corporations, all of whom foster the development of children, families and communities in the Greater Long Beach area."

I look forward to working with Centro CHA in the future for the betterment of our community.

END